Two days later, the day arrived for Gloomwind Valley's triennial Autumn Sword-Tournament.
Early that morning, Xu Qingtong tidied himself up and came to his master's cave abode. "Master, I'm going to take part in the Autumn Sword-Tournament today. Do you have any further instructions for me?"
"Go! Remember, do not tarnish Swallowtail Peak's name. Whoever you face, take them seriously. Remember, even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit. You must not be careless!"
Xu Qingtong bowed and nodded his assent.
"Call your Third Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother along. They're taking part as well."
Leaving his master's cave abode, he went to his Fourth Senior Brother Gong Chu's cave abode. "Fourth Senior Brother, let's go!"
After calling out, he headed toward his Third Senior Sister's door.
The three gathered, descended Swallowtail Peak, and headed straight for the Combat Arena.
There were eight fighting platforms in the Combat Arena. Each bore a large character marking its designation, lined up from Jia Arena to Xin Arena. Behind them stood a large stone dais, furnished with a row of chairs and several tables.
Sect Leader Fang Tianqi sat at the very center of the dais, his stern gaze sweeping in all directions. Some of the other chairs were empty, while others were already occupied. Xu Qingtong recognized one of those seated there: Guo Tianyu, the man who had brought him here.
After the hour of the Rabbit had passed, Fang Tianqi announced in a ringing voice, "The triennial Autumn Sword-Tournament begins today! Disciples who have registered may draw numbered tokens from Elder Guo and compete in the order of their tokens."
As it turned out, the Autumn Sword-Tournament, like the qualifying competition for the Mist Valley Trial, was an elimination tournament. Drawing tokens determined the order of the